Dearth of Spec. Ed. Professors Kindles K-12 Shortage

School district officials know all too
well that there aren't enough qualified special education teachers to
instruct a rising number of students with disabilities.

But the shortage of special education personnel doesn't start there.
The number of special education faculty members at universities has
dwindled in the past 20 years, meaning fewer people are equipped to
train new teachers needed to ease the shortage.

As Congress prepares to revise the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act, the federal special education law up for reauthorization
this year, incentives should be included to attract not only special
education teachers, but also faculty members to train them, said a
panel of researchers and educators at a recent Capitol Hill forum.

The number of those receiving special education doctorates annually
has dropped 30 percent in the past two decades. Only about half of
those who receive such doctorates choose to work in higher education,
according to the experts convened March 8 by the Washington-based
American Youth Policy Forum. The trend means college students training
to teach in other areas are less likely to receive training in special
education, panelists told the audience.

Lawmakers should develop greater access to financial aid for
students pursuing doctoral degrees in special education—and
create loan-forgiveness programs for those who choose to pursue special
education jobs in colleges and universities, panelists said.

"There are things that could be changed in the IDEA that could
really make a difference," said Deborah Deutsch Smith of Vanderbilt
University, who presented her October 2001 study at this month's policy
forum. "Without changes, our goal of attracting special education
teachers is in jeopardy."

College-Level Shortages

About one-third of openings for special education professors go
unfilled each year, according to Ms. Smith's study, and universities in
recent years have simply shaved off a fifth of those openings. The
result: persistent ebbing of the number of special education faculty
members, which diminishes the nation's training and research
infrastructure, according to the study.

Since 1992, openings in higher education for junior faculty members
who focus on special education have averaged about 250 annually,
roughly equal to the number of doctorates awarded.

If every college and university faculty slot in special education
were filled, about 3,000 more special education teachers could be
trained annually to serve about 48,000 K-12 students a year, the study
says.

So why do 250 doctorates tend to yield only 125 or so special
education professors? Ms. Smith's study pinpoints mobility and pay.

The median age of those completing special education doctorates,
researchers found, was 43. At that point in life, the study notes,
educators are hesitant to relocate for university jobs. And the average
salary of such faculty positions is $42,000, about 18 percent less than
candidates could typically make teaching in a district.

The shortage of special education teachers is critical for many
districts and states.

For example, the Illinois board of education last year identified
special education as the area with the greatest teacher shortage. The
board's report said districts would have to hire an additional 8,516
special education teachers by the end of 2005. But Illinois
universities are producing graduates in special education at an
all-time low rate, said panelist Sue Gamm, the chief
specialized-services officer for the Chicago public schools. "It is an
alarming crisis."

In 1971, four years before Congress passed the law now known as the
IDEA, which guarantees students with disabilities the right to a free,
appropriate public education, Illinois had 608 teachers with special
education bachelor's degrees. The number peaked five years later at
1,666. By the year 2000, the number had dropped to 675.

Illinois has taken steps to increase its roster of certified special
education teachers. The state eliminated most categories for special
education certification, continuing to isolate specialties only for
educators serving students with hearing, speech, and vision
impairments, so that special education teachers can be certified to
serve a group of students with many different disabilities.

"You always hear about shortages for special education teachers
mentioned along with foreign-language teachers, and math and science
teachers," she said. "Our shortages dwarf their shortages."

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